bats

[MAD BOMBER]

anyone seen the bats flying through the house prop on instructables? If so, anyone have suggestions on materials to use for the bats? It is a great looking prop in the house, but no description on what to use. I thought about plain black poster board, but for that many bats (with that much work), it would be nice if they were made to last. Not to mention hold the wing shape up or down. If you haven't seen it, ummm WOW!!!!! just type in "halloween bats" on the instructables website and check it out...

[hedg12]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Flight_of_the_Bats/
Looks cool. Not sure what you'd make them if you want them to be durable, though. Looks like they just used construction paper.

[TNBrad]

Flight of the Bats
We wanted dramatic decorations for our annual halloween party. The drama came in the form of 125 bats flying through our house and out the back door.

We used 5 different styles of bats cut using a Cricket and hung them with simple fishing line and tacks. The first step was a single line of bats that snaked through room. The bats were hung at graduating heights to give them the appearance of motion. Once we had our basic "flight pattern" we filled in with the rest of the bats.
http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FH0/12S6/FN82NV7I/FH012S6FN82NV7I.MEDIUM.jpg

My guess is that they are constrution paper a Cricket is a digital cutting tool.
With that said I made prop for last year that had Giant bats fling in and out of my garage door way as the ToTs walked under them a few would look up and see someing big fliy by and they would duck and run. LOL
I can post images if your intreseted.

[TNBrad]

http://www.halloweenforum.com/picture.php?albumid=703&pictureid=9342
http://www.halloweenforum.com/picture.php?albumid=703&pictureid=9337

http://www.halloweenforum.com/album.php?albumid=703&pictureid=9342

[scareme]

I like your idea. I have oak trees the tots have to walk under to get to the door. A few bats in their hair should do the trick. Last year I hung fishing line so it would feel like spider webs brushing their faces.

[Alucard]

I like the idea, please post the video!

[Just Whisper]

What about using the sheets of craft foam? Not sure of the proper name. It is sold in sheets about 8"x10" and about 1/8" thick. I think you can get larger sheets at the larger craft stores like Michaels or Hobby Lobby. Comes in many colors, very durable. Of course if you are making a lot of them, it could get expensive. I guess if you want the wings more life-like you could add thin wire to them.

[DarkLore]

I'd like to see the templates (shapes) that were used.

[MAD BOMBER]

haunt forum peeps rock!!!! Thanks y'all

[jabberwocky]

I bet that with some carefully placed strobe lighting and a fan, you could get an effect of fast paced motion from those bats.

[TNBrad]

I was going to try to use these foil bats on (Fishing) line I got at Party City a few years back and put them on a pulley system. The foil would reflect the light and look like flapping wing, and make a rustling sound too. Insted here is where they did go.
http://www.halloweenforum.com/picture.php?albumid=839&pictureid=18510
Here you can see the foil bat stringers on balloons that would drop from the ceiling and rise again depending the temperature.
The warm air along the ceiling from all the guests would cause the balloon to drop down and the cool air on the floor would cause them to rise again, as the building AC would move them around the room. Some time they landed on people giving them a scare and other time they would land on tables or props, and rise up suddenly.

[Aquayne]

I agree with Just Whisper It looks like craft foam. Wal*Mart is closing down most of their craft sections so there may be a good deal to be found. I think it's called "fun foam" or similar. It is tough stuff. Easy to work with and cut with scissors.

[Haasmama]

Here is a quick suggestion to get a little more realism for these bats (I volunteer for a local fish and wildlife and have actually been able to work with the real thing...) After cutting out the initial shape, cut out sections of the wing to resemble the skim between the fingers and then overlay pieces of black landscape fabric (found at HD or Lowes in the garden section). The membrane between the bats' fingers is very thin. the fabric is a great simulation, but pretty durable as well.

[MAD BOMBER]

well guys thanks for the ideas. I decided to cut them out of cardboard due to there being about 250 bats total (cardboard is free). i drew 8 different bat shapes. I'm gonna spray em all with black spray paint... cross your fingers, and I'll post pics when it's done!

[TNBrad]

OK here is a Question???
Could there not be a Axworthy Ghost Drive set up (I think that is what they are called). I have seen them with more than one ghost running about what if there was a design for a rigging that held 3-5 bats and the you a few of those running on the line around you haunt then it would like groups of bats. Does anyone else think this could this work????

[Warrant2000]

It seems that to get the wings up or down, they just bent the shape and tied it in place. I dpn't think the wings will stay up on their own. Cardboard will definately make them last.

[GOT]

Tie a long piece of fishing line across the room. Tie the ends to eye-bolts. At one-third and two-thirds along the length of the line, attach a crank motor (ie: flying crank ghost). Set the two motors at slightly different speeds. Now, tie the bats to the line and hit them with a strobe light. The bat line will snake side to side and the bats will move up and down as the slack in the line is pulled and loosened. If you can't attach the motors to the ceiling, maybe just put one motor at the end of the line and pull the line tight/slack.

[Decrepit Desecr8shun]

wld be expensive 2 execute but the flying bats cld be used instead. You would have 2 use 2 anchor points 2 keep them from flying in circles as they are designed 2 do tho.

[Zombies Anonymous]

The circut cutter can be used without cartridges. There is a program called 'Sure Cuts A Lot' which uses your computer and what ever you put into the program. It does not void cricut warranty. The cricut itself was an item I would never dream of buying just due to the fact that its applications are limited. But now that I can use this program to put what ever I want.

This is what they used for the flight of the bat instructable.

[Haasmama]

The circut cutter can be used without cartridges. There is a program called 'Sure Cuts A Lot' which uses your computer and what ever you put into the program. It does not void cricut warranty.

Where did you get the program for the Cricut? I have the first version that came out and would love to try that program with mine.

[Zombies Anonymous]

I just google it. There are several websites and on ebay that sell the program.

[Zombies Anonymous]

So heart on the heels of the whole circut cutter thing. I rather spend the money on a few new props at this point in time, then a new cutter. So I have been cutting out over 200 bats. Using a scroll saw, I cut out the template with 1/4" wood (use what ever is lying around). With the stencil, just trace around black paper. I bought cardstock as it is heavier and will hold up for a few years. Perhaps if I like it, I will cut them out of that foam sheet available.

I bought and have saved tons of time using a quick cutter. Which is basically a hand held device that holds a exacto type blade that rotates. It took me a few hours to trace and cut the extended wing bats. I liked the look so much I decided that I needed some hanging bats, and a few on the verge of dropping down to join the flight. All in all this is one of those projects you can do while doing laundry or watching a horror movie.

If anyone else would like a copy of the bat templates I used. I put them under my user profile, in photo albums under 'bats' as I can't figure out how to post them here.